Borrowed Time
by ShinkonoKokoro
Summary: After Ed has saved his brother, what becomes? Well, they're living together happily. Ed may not have been able to save his arm and leg, but he was able to save his brother, only... Was it borrowed time?


Borrowed Time

_Ed swallowed and finally dared to open his eyes. Al stood before him, grinning madly. "Oh my—Al!" Ed's own face split into a huge grin of relief and joy. "We did it! We did it, Al!"_

_Throwing his now human arms around his brother, Al laughed aloud, Ed joining in. "No, you did it, nii-san."_

_"Whatever," Ed replied, shaking his head, not wanting to make an argument out of it. "Doesn't matter. All that matters is that you've got your human body back!"_

_"Mm!" Al smiled and then pulled back. "Anou…nii-san? What about _your _arm and leg?"_

Ed smiled. "It's alright. Doesn't matter really. The important part was yours." Before Al could insert anything, Ed grabbed his hand and ran towards the door of the empty building they stood in where Ed had restored Al to himself. "Now come on! Let's finally go home!"

Ed smiled to himself, strolling down the road, his hands slipped into his pockets. _Yes_, he'd saved Al. He had had to. They were brothers. Not to mention Al hadn't had much time left in the suit of armor. The smile soured slightly. _No matter. He's human now. So it's fine._

"Nii-san!" Al's waving hand greeted him, followed by his smiling face and the rest of his body as he crested the hill.

Smiling anew, Ed waved back. "Hey, Al! Winry!"

Winry smiled, walking towards him next to Al. "Hey, Ed! Welcome back!"

Ed nodded and adjusted his grip on his suitcase. He'd just come from the capital, having seen Roy. He worked for the military still, doing odd jobs and whatever they wanted. He was paid well, and it was easy enough in these days. "Yeah. It's good to be back."

Al gestured to hurry him towards the house. "Come on! We're going to have dinner!"

Laughing easily as the old thoughts faded away, Ed nodded. "I'm coming. So what are we having for dinner?" Glancing at Winry, his grin turned mischievous. "Did Winry make it?"

Glaring at him, Winry planted her hands on her hips. "Of _course _I made it! Who else would?"

"Well, Al, for one," Ed retorted. "He's a better cook than you anyway."

Sputtering an affronted gasp as Ed walked passed her into the Rockbell's house left to them by Pinako, Winry glared. "Yeah? Well, I'm getting better, so there!"

Al sighed and shook his head, amused. "Can't you two not bicker for once?"

They both turned to Al and said in unison, "No." Ed promptly began laughing and Winry huffed.

"Oh yeah? Well, I wouldn't be talking, shorty!"

Whirling, his eyes glowing. "You did _not_ just call me short…"

Smiling triumphantly, Winry nodded proudly. "You better believe it!"

"I've grown three inches! So there! I am _not_ short!" Ed shouted.

"Alright! Enough!" Al pushed the two of them towards the house. "Inside! Ed, wash your hands! Winry, would you please get us all something to drink? We're going to have dinner."

Ed grumbled and made his way into the house up to his room where he set his suitcase and jacket. Pausing to wash his hands, he returned to the kitchen and plopped into his seat. "Hey… It doesn't smell that bad…"

Winry turned and glared at him. "Of course it doesn't."

"Because I helped…" Al murmured quietly, avoiding looking at the two of them.

Ed laughed. "Go figure."

"Al! That's not fair!" Winry protested. She sighed and set the food on the table and set glasses of tea down before the three places. "Itadakimasu…"

"Itadakimasu!" Ed and Al echoed and then began eating.

Al looked at his brother while he ate.

Sensing the eyes on him, Ed looked up mid-bite, seeing Al looking at him. "What?"

"Mm. Nothing." Al smiled and took a bite.

"What is it?" Ed pressed.

"Shouldn't you cut your hair, nii-san?"

"Mm. It is getting pretty long now, Ed," Winry added thoughtfully.

Shrugging, Ed took another bite. "So? What's wrong with it? So it's a little long?"

"Well, nii-san… It's down to the bottom of your back. It's long."

Glaring playfully, Ed frowned. "You don't _like_ my hair!"

Chuckling lightly, Al shook his head. "No. I was just wondering why you let it grow so long."

Ed shrugged and finished his tea. "I dunno. I just did. Got lazy. Didn't cut it. Why?"

"Just wondering." Al smiled and sipped his tea.

"So what did you do this time, Ed?" Winry asked, leaning on her elbows.

"Ah, just the usual. I searched for records, found people, the usual, you know."

There was a silence, Winry nodding thoughtfully, Al drinking his tea.

"…" Ed looked between the two and opened his mouth to say something, but Al got there first.

"Nii-san. We have some news," he said quietly.

"What is it?" Ed queried warily.

"Ed," Winry began.

"No, Winry, I'll say it," Al said quietly but firmly.

"Nii-san, we, Winry and I, have decided to get married."

Ed blinked. "Really?"

They both nodded.

"Well, I was wondering when this was going to happen." He smiled at them. "Congratulations! I'm happy for you!"

This time it was Al's turn to blink. "Th-thank you, Nii-san!"

"Thanks, Ed." Winry smiled at him.

"Of course! I think that you two would be happy together." Ed smiled. "You have my blessing."

Al jumped up and threw his arms around his brother. "Oh, thank you, Nii—" He broke off suddenly, coughing.

Ed shook his head. "Got yourself so excited you choked on something, did you?" An amused smile played around his face.

Al gave him a pained smile at the attempt to be funny, coughing some more. "Y-yeah…" He hacked some more, draining the remainder of his tea.

Winry watched him, a worried expression masking her face.

"Hey…Al…. Are you alright?" Ed said, glancing in Winry's direction.

Having finally stopped coughing, Al nodded, sitting once again, breathing deeply. "Yeah. I'm fine." He gave them both a reassuring smile.

"Hey, Al, it's my job to lie about that and pretend I'm fine when I'm not. Is there something wrong?" Ed asked seriously.

"No! Of course not! I just swallowed some air wrong, that's all," Al laughed, brushing their silly worries aside. "I'm fine. Go ahead and go sleep if you want, Ed, I'll take care of the dishes. You're probably tired, right?"

Ed nodded and stood. "Yeah. It might be a good idea to tuck in early tonight. I want you to sleep well tonight too, Al." Ed yawned and headed out of the kitchen and towards the stairs to head up to his room, pausing as he heard Winry say Al's name sharply. _What's going on? Do they both know something I don't? I know Al was just trying to get rid of me…_Ed scooted back closer to the door to hear better, the back part of his mind whispering, _Nothing good ever comes of eavesdropping._

_Yeah, I know_, Ed thought in return. _But there's something going on that I don't know about…_

"Al! How could you! I thought you were going to say something!" Winry accused quietly.

There was silence on Al's part and Ed could almost see him, looking down at his feet, frowning like he used to when he was a kid. "I… I know," he said finally. "But… But nii-san always has so much on his mind, and he doesn't need to worry about me too."

"Al, you know that's not true," Winry argued.

"Winry, I—"

"No, come on! Listen for a minute!" Ed could see Winry setting the dishes in the sink as he heard the clanks and chinks. He folded his arms, leaning against the wall where he couldn't be seen, frowning deeply, ignoring the pit in his stomach. _Al… How could you not tell me something?_

"Why don't you tell him?" Winry was saying. "Maybe he can figure something out that we can't. Maybe he has access to some knowledge that we don't, being in the military and all. Talk to him, won't you?"

Again Al was silent. "Winry," he began again. "I just can't. I can't do that. Not now. Nii-san always tries to take everything onto his own shoulders anyway. He doesn't need any more burdens. We have things that we need to do. Get ready for the wedding, right?"

"Al," Winry was pleading now. "Al, that means nothing if we don't find out what's wrong with you. Come on! This has been going on for nearly a month and a half now! And if anything, it's gotten worse!" Her eyes would be watering up now.

"Winry. It'll be okay. It will pass. Come on. Don't cry, please?"

Ed allowed himself a bitter smile about being right.

"But, Al, you're coughing. And if it hasn't passed by now, then I don't think that it will! We don't know what's wrong with you, and I can see that it's hurting you! None of the doctors that we've gone to know anything!" Winry cried, her voice rising.

"Shh! I don't want him to hear!" Al admonished.

Ed felt a faint twang of guilt, a shudder running down his spine.

"I know, Al, but you need to talk to him. Please? Do it for me?"

Al sighed, and Ed heard his footsteps moving around the kitchen. Ed backed away silently and slowly. "Alright, Winry. I'll talk to him. Are you happy?"

She sighed as well. "Yes," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "Soon, please."

"I know. I'll do it sometime soon…" His footsteps grew louder and Ed started, hurrying quickly and silently up the stairs to his room, stripping his shirt off to change. _Did I do something wrong when I got his body back for him, _Ed thought, biting his lip. _Shit! What could I have done wrong? And why didn't he tell me!_

Ed plopped down heavily on his bed, having changed. His head drooped into his hands, one metal, one flesh, his elbows resting on his knees. _Why didn't he tell me! I could have done something…_

Al's footsteps sounded on the stairs, hesitantly making their way up. Ed looked to the door as the handle turned and the door opened. "Nii-san?" Al said hesitantly as he stepped in.

Ed stood, his hands in fists at his sides. "You know… We're not kids anymore. You can just call me by my name."

Al blinked and then looked at the floor. "Yeah…"

"Come on, Al. You're twenty years old now. We don't need to behave like kids anymore."

Al looked up and gave him a forced smile. "You're right…Ed…"

Ed's lips twitched in a frown, his face expressionless. "…Al."

"Yes, nii—Ed?"

"Why didn't you tell me."

"What do you mean?"  
"Why didn't you _tell_ me that there's something wrong!" He shouted.

Al took a step backwards, surprised. "I…I…"

"Why NOT!"

"Because, nii-Ed. You've got so much to worry about already, and I didn't want you to worry about me while you were away at work and stuff."

"Worry! I already worry about you! That's a stupid reason, Al, and you know it! It's a pathetic reason! If you're going to hide things from me, at least give me a better reason than that!"

Al flinched, avoiding his eyes. "E-ed…"

"Why didn't you tell me?" he repeated.

Al was silent for a moment. "You were listening."

"Duh! Of course I was listening! How else would I have found out!"

Looking up at his brother, Al met his gaze. "We didn't want you to know. You've got other stuff to worry about, and you already give us money. Don't worry about it. It'll go away. It's nothing serious."

"Liar! How can you look me _in the eye_, and tell me that you'll be fine!" Ed shouted, advancing towards his brother. "How can you _do _that!"

"Ed! Stop it, alright! It's fine! It's not a problem!"

"It _IS _a problem, Al!" Ed bellowed. "There's something wrong with your body, something that's making you sick, and there may be something that _I_can do to make it better! If I screwed up getting your body back, then I should be the one to fix it!"

Al blinked, and then scowled. "So _that's _what this is all about, is it? You've done something wrong, so you want to fix it now? Now that it might be too late!"

"What? No, Al! I want to help you! I want to try and help figure out what's wrong? I'm your brother!"

"I know," Al said, his voice quiet and morose.

"So why don't you let me help you?" Ed asked quietly, distressed and hurt by the fact that he had had to find out by eavesdropping. _Well, you were right, mind, you never find anything good out by eavesdropping._

"What if I wanted to do it on my own?" Al looked over at the wall, his hand gripping his other arm.

"Well, you have, obviously, so far," Ed said in a dull voice, widening the gap between the two.

"You were away."

"That's no excuse. Write me a letter. Call me. I'd have come."

Al was silent. "Yeah, Ed. But that's the problem. You always try to do too much."

"Al!" Ed protested. "_This_ is not too much! This is trying to help figure out what's wrong and fix it!"

"Yeah, but you have a job, and you're always trying to help out everywhere. It's too much, nii-san. You can't do so much," Al whispered almost pleadingly.

"I can, Al. I can, and I will." Ed pushed passed his brother and headed down the stairs, pausing outside the kitchen hearing Winry's miserable sobs. He shook his head and walked out of the house, heading down the road towards the graveyard where his mother's grave was. _I can help, idiot… You should share the burden. If there's something wrong with you, I want to fix it. I want to help you._

Ed stopped in front of his mother's grave, his hands in his pockets, staring at the tombstone: Trisha Elric. "Now what do I do…?" Knowing no answers came from the dead, Ed sat, his arms resting across his knees. "Now what…."

Ed didn't return home until late, his time spent at the grave, wandering town and everywhere else. The light on the upper porch was on, blinking, waiting for him to return home. He scowled angrily, his eyes welling up, but he didn't cry. _Stupid Winry and stupid brother_. He ignored it and entered the house quietly, making sure the door was locked. He slipped up the stairs, only halfway up when he heard his name. Ed looked up to see Al at the top of the stairs. "What."

"I'm sorry, nii-san," he said quietly.

Ed reached the top of the stairs. "It's alright," he mumbled, walking passed his brother, stopping at his door. "Don't think this is over. I accept your apology, but don't think it's over, Al. 'Cause it's not." Ed opened the door to his room and entered, shutting it firmly behind him. "There's no way this is over until I figure out something to do," Ed whispered to himself. "There's gotta be some way that we can figure this out…" He slipped out of his clothing and between the sheets of his bed, falling into an unrestful sleep.

With the sun shining in his window, Ed stirred, waking slowly, the memories of the previous night slowly trickling back to conscious memory. "Ug." He slipped out of bed and threw some clothing on before he headed downstairs for breakfast.

"Good morning, Ed," Winry said, her cheery smile back in place as she poured the coffee.

"Don't worry about it, Winry. You don't have to pretend," Ed replied tiredly. "Good morning."

Her smile faltering slightly, she shook her head. "Whatever! Here's your coffee."

"Thanks." He sipped the bitter drink, mind already seeped in thought.

"Al! Good morning!" Winry trotted over to him and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. How are you this morning?"

"I'm fine." He flushed slightly. "Thanks." He looked over at Ed. "…good morning, Ed."

"Good morning, Al."

Winry looked between the two brothers, wondering at Al's calling of his brother 'Ed." "Why don't you sit down and have some breakfast, Al?"

"Sure, thanks." Al sat picking up his mug of coffee, taking a sip, looking at his older brother out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, I'm not all that hungry this morning," Ed began. "I've got some business to take care of anyway." He stood, swallowing the dregs of his coffee. "Thanks for the coffee, Winry. I'll see you both later!" Grabbing his coat, Ed walked out the front door, strides swift and purposeful as he headed into town to talk to the doctors there to find out what Al and Winry knew, but didn't tell him.

"It was the strangest thing I'd ever seen," Dr. Stevens was saying. "I don't know what it was, but it looked like some of his skin had a disease or something. And there's not much I can do about that. And as for his cough… Well, there doesn't necessarily seem to be anything wrong. He _seems_ healthy, but he coughs. And the only thing I can do is suggest liquids and taking things easy."

_Something,_ Ed thought morosely, _Al sure doesn't seem to be doing._ "Well, thank you, Dr. Stevens. I appreciate you time." Ed stood and left. That was the third doctor in town that he'd talked to, and they'd all said pretty much the same thing, except for Dr. Stevens. _I wonder if even Winry knows about his skin. Dr. Stevens was the only one who'd mentioned that…_ Ed heaved a sigh. _If only Dr. Marco were still around…_ Ed stopped and blinked. That might be the answer… He thought a moment. The red water…Dr. Marco had found a way to help people with the fake philosopher's stone.

"Hey! Watch it!"

Ed jumped out of the way as a person in a car flew by. "Geeze!" He sighed and then headed towards home again, mind made up. He would have to get one of Dr. Marco's red stones. Or make one.

"Ed! You're back!" Winry exclaimed as he walked into the house, coming out of her workshop.

"Yup. But I'm not staying long. Where's Al?"

"Not staying—what? Al? He's out? What about—where are you going? Ed? Ed!" She called after him as he walked up the stairs to his room.

Looking around, he picked up a few things and put them into his suitcase that was still partly packed. "…" With another cursory glance around his room, Ed left and trotted down the stairs, calling to Winry, "When Al gets back, tell him I had to leave on some business and that I should be back in about a week, or a week and a half."

Winry, her face drawn and worried, nodded. "You won't stay to tell him yourself?"

Ed shook his head. "Nope. I've got to get going. It's urgent business. See ya, Winry." He ran down the steps and hurried down the road to the train station, catching the next one that arrived.

Arriving at Dr. Marco's old house, Ed's hopes sank. The house was in use by another family. They lived there now. And Ed had no idea where to find anything of Dr. Marco's. He blinked. "Stupid!" he whispered to himself, hurrying back towards the station. "He worked for the military! They'll have records. I hope Roy still has them—"

"—no."

"What!"  
"I said, no, Ed. I don't have the records," Roy said firmly.

"You're sure? I mean, come on, Roy! You have to have _something_!" Ed pleaded.

"I'm afraid I don't." Roy looked up at him from his desk. "And you, Edward Elric, wouldn't be indulging yourself in any illegal activities, would you?"  
"Of course not!" Ed replied heatedly with a hint of desperation. "I _need_ those records! They could mean life or death!"

Roy absorbed this for a moment, staring at his papers and then sighed. "I'm sorry, Ed. I really don't have them," he said finally, looking up at him.

Ed's automail fist slammed down on the desk with a harsh ejaculated curse.

Roy said nothing.

Whirling on his heel, Ed strode from his office, running once he was out of the building, leaving the military complex far behind. "NO!" Ed came to a stop at the edge of town. He'd been all over the place looking for something, _anything,_ that might help. He cursed again violently. "It's not supposed to be this way!" He yelled and raged at the sky, the trees, the air around him. "No, no, NO!" Collapsing to the ground, Ed's head drooped forward, staring between his feet at the grass. "There has to be something," Ed whispered hoarsely. His eyes fell on his watch, hanging from his belt-loop. "Oh, crap!" Jumping to his feet, he sprinted back to his hotel. "It's already been two and a half weeks now!" Upon arrival, he grabbed his suitcase and other things and then hurried to the train station.

"I'm sorry, sir. This station is closed."

"You've got to be kidding me," Ed groaned.

"No, I'm sorry, sir, I'm not kidding you," the station master said.

"You don't understand, though. I've got to get home. I _have _to take this train," Ed stressed to the man.

"Sir, the train isn't working. There's no way you can get home."

"No!" Ed cursed again. "It's a matter of life and death!"

The man shook his head apologetically. "I'm sorry, but there still isn't anything I can do."

Ed turned away. "Fine." He looked around, swore again and headed towards home, running.

Ed looked up. Finally, it was starting to look like he was closer to home. The trains had been out due to track trouble, and faulty replacement parts. "And it's just my luck," Ed muttered. So he had walked and ran home, not stopping, worry driving him as fast as possible. Another day, and he should be home. Ed sighed and wearily trudged his way home.

"Ed! You're back!" Winry exclaimed with surprise as he walked in the door, nearly dropping her armload of clothing.

He nodded, dropping his suitcase to the floor.

"What took so long?"

"How's Al?"

"He's…" She swallowed, her expression betraying the truth.

Ed stared hard at her. "Is he worse? What happened?"

"Ed…"

"Tell me!" Ed shouted.

"I'm trying!" Winry protested, her eyes tearing up. "I'm trying, but you keep interrupting!"

"Come on!"

"Nii-san…?" A frail voice at the top of the stairs called.

"Al!" Ed whispered in disbelief, walking passed Winry to the stairs.

"Y-you're home!" Al smiled, coughing suddenly, his face pale and thin.

"Of course I'm home! And you should be in bed from the looks of you!" Ed hurried up the stairs, his arms wrapping around his brother before he fell over.

"I… had to see if it was really you…" he said, voice weak. "Don't yell at… Winry, okay? It's not her fault."

Ed bit his lip and helped his brother back to his room, appalled at his lack of weight. "Yeah. Alright. I won't yell at Winry."

Al started coughing again, and Ed winced just to hear it.

"So you sleep, alright? I want you to stay in bed and take it easy, you got it?" Ed tucked his brother in and gave him a smile. Turning out the light on his way out, Ed went back downstairs. "Winry!" She came out of her workroom, wiping at her face, presumably tears. "We have to talk," he said quietly, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Winry nodded and sat with him. "Y-yes," She said shakily.

"So you still don't know what's wrong with him." Ed pushed his hair back from his face, taking out the thong that held it tied into its braid.

Winry shook her head. "No."

"And why is he worse."

"He…he wouldn't take it easy. I told him, again and again, that he should relax and take it easy like the doctors all told him. But he wouldn't listen. And then he was working out in the rain about a week and a half ago, and everything took a turn for the worst," she explained quietly. "And there's nothing we can do. No medicines will help."

Ed nodded, staring at the table, but not really seeing it. "Oh."

"Where were you, Ed?" Winry asked.

"…I was all over."

"Ed, come on! Why did you leave! I know you two fought, but that was no reason to leave. And why do you look so horrible, forgive me for saying."

"I had to walk home from the capital."

She blanched. "You _walked_!"

Ed nodded. "I was trying to find some of the red water, or at least something that Dr. Marco may have left behind so I could make a fake philosopher's stone so that I could hopefully help Al."

"Oh, Ed…" Winry's eyes watered up again.

"There… there wasn't any," he said hoarsely as he stood and headed up the stairs to his brother's room, slipping inside and kneeling next to his bed. "Al…" he said quietly, staring at his brother's sleeping form. Taking Al's hand in his own, Ed lay his head down in the dark, falling asleep to his brother's laboured breathing.

"Ed…?" Al said faintly. "Nii-san…?"

Ed woke quickly. "Al!" Looking around, Ed stood, realizing where he was and what he was doing there. "Good morning. Are you hungry? You want me to get you something?"

"Nii-san," Al said as he struggled to sit up.

"Don't worry about it. Lay down."

"No!" He started coughing again. "You have… to listen to me…"

Ed hurt just to watch his brother. "Okay, okay, Al. Relax. I'll listen." He sat down on the edge of his brother's bed.

Al nodded and gulped air. "Nii-san, I'm dying."

Ed jerked as if slapped. "What? No you're not, you'll be fine, Al. You'll ge—"

"Ed! Shut up, please." He broke off coughing again. Al looked up, wiping his mouth when finished, but he couldn't hide the blood. He was coughing blood. "Please," he pleaded. "I'm dying, Ed. I can feel it. My skin…" Al pushed back his sleeves.

Ed simply stared, the symptoms looking vaguely familiar. _Dad… Dad's skin looked kind of like that…_ "Al…"

Finishing another coughing fit, Al nodded. "I'm dying. I don't think even Winry knows this much. I don't want her to. But I wanted to… apologize for what happened before you left. I'm sorry, nii-san. Ed," Al said, his voice faint. "I should have told you."

"Oh, Al. I'm sorry too. I don't want to fight," Ed said, swallowing. "I… I just want you to get better, that's all."

"But we both know, deep down, that that's not going to happen, nii-san. I don't have much time. I can tell that. So just… spend some time with me, will you?"

Ed nodded and smiled, ignoring the annoying presence of wetness in his eyes. "Of course I will. I'm going to get some breakfast and then I'll be right back. Okay?"

Al nodded. "Sure."

Ed hurried downstairs and grabbed a glass of orange juice and a couple of slices of bread. _ Dying? He can't be dying. He's just exaggerating. There's nothing wrong with him…_ Ed lied to himself inside, hurrying back up the stairs to his brother's room. "I'm back, Al. Al!"

Al looked up, collapsed on the floor. "N-nii-san…" He gave him a sweet smile.

"Al, what's wrong? What are you doing out of bed?" Ed set his glass and bread down on the dressing table, crouching next to his brother, wrapping his arms around him to lift him back to his bed.

"N-nii-s-san…" He started coughing again, curling up, his hands over his mouth. "W-when… I said that I was dying…. Ed…. I meant it…"

"Wh-what! N-now!" Ed stared, eyes wide, voice almost hysterical with disbelief.

Al smiled, his eyes shut. It was an incredibly sad smile that nearly broke Ed's heart. "Nii-san." Al breathed in. He let it out. "Ed, I'm going to die. But it's alright."

"No! Are you nuts! Of course it's not alright!"

"But nii-san, I'm living on borrowed time anyway. It was equivalent exchange. I was supposed to have died way back then."

"No you weren't, Al! That's why I saved you! That's why I had to get you your body back! That was the whole point! Of everything!"

Al shook his head and smiled. "Thank you, nii-san. I appreciate everything you did for me. I should have died a long time ago, but you kept me alive. But there's nothing you can do this time. O-oh… Would you… tell Winry that… I love her?"

"Tell her yourself, stupid!" Ed said, his voice shaking as he turned and bellowed out of the room. "WINRY! GET UP HERE, QUICK!" He looked back at Al. "Al? Come on, Al! Stay with me!"

The footsteps on the stairs grew louder as seconds later, Winry appeared in the doorway. "What! What is it!" she cried, eyes wide and worried. Her hands flew to her mouth as she saw Al lying in Ed's arms. "AL!"

"Al, go on. Tell her what you just told me," Ed encouraged, his voice breaking.

Al's eyes fluttered as he looked towards Winry. "…b-borrowed…"

"Not that, stupid!" Ed choked as Winry strained to hear.

"…b-borrowed… t-time….. I …love…you," Al trailed off as his eyes fluttered shut one final time.

Ed's head bowed as he hunched over his brother's body. All of a sudden, there was a dull glow, and Ed's head snapped up. "Wha…?" He stared, Winry staring over his shoulder.

"What's…going on?" she asked, voice quivering.

"I…" Ed stared, eyes wide as he realized what was happening. "NO!" He grabbed onto the body, but it wouldn't help.

Al's body glowed and shimmered, vanishing into the glow, returning to the gate that Ed was so familiar with.

Staring at his own empty hands once the glow had vanished, Ed swallowed, sitting back, the only thing left being Winry's keening wail as she collapsed to her knees behind him.


End file.
